Utility lighters are very useful and have become quite prevalent in modern times. Utility lighters of the type described herein generally contain a handle and an elongated lighting rod. The shape and operation of utility lighters allow for several advantages over normal means of producing a flame. Most significantly, due to the elongated nature of the lighting rod, utility lighters enable the operator to stand a safe distance away from the object to be ignited before actuating the lighter, thus avoiding a large number of potential accidents. In addition, utility lighters allow a flame to be produced in hard-to-reach or narrow places, where the human hand holding a match would not normally fit. Still, in the hands of children, or others who do not know how to safely and properly operate the lighter, such lighters are as dangerous as any other spark and/or flame-producing device. Therefore, a need has been realized to equip utility lighters with safety features that minimize accidental or improper use by inexperienced persons, especially young children.
Many inventions have been created to address this safety-related concern. Generally, these inventions have sought to introduce safety mechanisms that disable automatic operation of either the spark-generation or the fuel-release function of the lighter or both. For example, some utility lighters provide for a blocking mechanism, where the actuating trigger is blocked from moving the required distance for a spark to be generated. In these lighters, the locking mechanism is normally de-activated by sliding an "on/off" switch to the "on" position, or by other means, so as to remove the impediment from the actuating trigger's operating path.
Although utility lighters of the type described above provide some level of safety, there is much room for improvement. Specifically, in these lighters, once the locking means (e.g., the on/off switch) is disabled, the lighter remains in the unlocked state until the locking mechanism is activated again. Therefore, if the operator disables the locking mechanism in order to use the lighter, and then forgets to re-lock the lighter, the safety feature of the lighter is rendered useless, until the locking mechanism is again activated.
Other inventions have attempted to address the safety-related issues by impeding not the operation of the trigger, but that of the fuel-release mechanism. Of course, a utility lighter containing such a mechanism would inhibit flame generation in the locked position as no fuel would be released until the locking mechanism has been deactivated. However, in these types of lighters, nothing prevents a spark from being generated. As such, the safety goals are only partially met in these types of lighters since young children handling the lighter could still create fires by operating the lighter in close proximity to a source of fuel or near carpets, paper, or other flammable material.
In order to address the above problems, some inventions have introduced locking mechanisms that are activated automatically after each use of the lighter. As such, in these lighters, two states of operation exist: the locked state and the operable state. In the locked state, neither a spark nor a flame can be generated. In contrast, in the operable state, the lighter is no longer locked, so that a flame can be generated. Although, in general, this improvement has alleviated some of the concerns mentioned above, there is still room for further improvement.
Specifically, in most dual-state, automatic-locking lighters, once the lighter is unlocked and the trigger activated, the flame that is generated will subsist for as long as the trigger is held in the depressed position. In other words, once the locking mechanism is disabled, flame generation is a simple task involving depression of the trigger. This is of some concern since even young children might be able to achieve this task.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that not only achieves the stated safety goals in generating a flame, but also makes it difficult for inexperienced users or young children or both to sustain the flame. The invention described herein offers such a combination. The invention requires that a safety button, protruding generally from the top portion of the lighter housing shell, be actuated prior to depression of the trigger to produce a flame. In addition, the invention requires that the safety button, and not the trigger, be held in its activated state to sustain the flame; releasing the safety button after generating a flame extinguishes the flame.
The unique structure of the safety button contained in the present invention provides for an optimum amount of safety as it makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for young children to operate the device. Young children are capable of carrying out only simple mental tasks. As such, a young child wishing to operate the present invention would attempt to do so in the usual way, i.e., by pressing the trigger. However, because of the automatic locking mechanism, the trigger will not move. This feature alone acts as a deterrent because most young children will simply abandon the device after several unsuccessful attempts.
If the child does recognize that the slide-safety button plays a role in activating the lighter, then the child operator must also recognize that the safety button must be operated prior to the trigger to generate a flame. This is generally too convoluted a concept for young children to grasp or appreciate.
Nevertheless, even if a young child were to learn the proper operation of the device, the child would probably still be unable to actually operate the device. Given the relative location of the trigger and the safety button, operation of the present invention requires that the user be able to grasp the handle of the lighter in his or her hand, operate the slide-safety button with the thumb, and operate the trigger with the index finger. This, in turn, requires not only a significant amount of manual dexterity, but also hands that are sufficiently large, namely, adult hands. Moreover, successful operation of the device requires strength that is rarely found in young children's hands
In addition, even if a child were to posses the mental capacity for understanding and learning the required operation process, a large enough hand, and the required manual dexterity and strength, to generate a flame, he would have to recognize a second concept: that the flame will not be sustained unless the safety button is held in its activated state. Again, this is a difficult mental concept for a child to recognize and learn. Moreover, even if learned, the concept would be difficult for a child to operationalize given the above discussion regarding the mental and physical limitations of young children. On the other hand, an adult user would have no difficulty operating the invention as the device requires no more than the operation of two strategically positioned buttons.
In addition to all of the safety advantages described above, the invention described herein offers a significant reduction in cost of manufacturing and a significant increase in ease of manufacturing.